CHAMPCAR/CART: Michel Jourdain Homestead Test Thursday

JOURDAIN JR. WRAPS UP HIS FIRST OFFICIAL TEST WITH A LOLA CHASSIS
Herdez backed driver Michel Jourdain Jr. wrapped up at the 1.5 mile
circuit of Homestead in Florida, his first official testing with the new
package for the 1999 FedEx ...

JOURDAIN JR. WRAPS UP HIS FIRST OFFICIAL TEST WITH A LOLA CHASSIS

Herdez backed driver Michel Jourdain Jr. wrapped up at the 1.5 mile
circuit of Homestead in Florida, his first official testing with the new
package for the 1999 FedEx Championship Series season: a Lola chassis with
a Ford-Cosworth engine and Firestone tires.

The Herdez/Payton-Coyne Racing Team had scheduled to start the testing
on Tuesday, but due to rainy conditions the session was cancelled. Then,
the first session started on Wednesday -with good weather-. That day Michel
completed 100 laps and today he put in 119 laps of testing.

The next two day testing session for Michel Jourdain Jr. and his
Herdez-Viva Mexico! Team will be in Homestead again, at the middle of
December.

Michel Jourdain Jr., Car #19 Herdez-Viva Mexico! Team: "We made a lot of
changes. At the middle of the session we've got lost, but the team kept
working and the car was improved towards the final two runs. This was not
really a speed test; we were concentrated in learning the car and its
reactions with different kind of changes. Unfortunately, there was a point
when the sunshine blinded me in some parts of the track, but so far I am
very happy with the work done. The car has a lot of potential and there are
a lot of things to work on."

Dale Coyne, owner of the Herdez/Payton-Coyne Racing Team: "We learned a
lot and the most important thing is the input we've got. Last season the
only Lola car in the Champ Series used Goodyear tires and this time we used
Firestone. We had the settings for the Goodyear tires, but with Firestone
the car has many different needs, it reacts different. Happily we reached a
lot of improvements in the set up."